raen21

Well said!!

RCC9 You nailed it!!!

You are right in that it is very rare!! Apparently a couple of the teams that played Friday night (1st round of Frosh tourney) had players on team that did not play freshman game all season because they were playing jv/v only! A similar thing happened last year during season when Newport played 2 8th graders in Varsity games then tried to*pull them down to play in 8th grade tourney. It wasn't a big deal for teams they were playing against, but it was a big deal to those kids that had played all season & lost playing time in tourney they worked all season for!!! It's not against the rules, but to me it shows poor sportsmanship!!! To those who drop to that level...just remember what they say about karma!!!

No matter whether a big or small school team, if you have a freshmen team & have freshmen playing varsity only all yeàr never having played on the freshmen team all year, you shouldn't be able to play down...period!! We aren't talking about kids that play freshmen & jv/v, too...just those that haven't played freshmen all year!!

The people that support players pulled down for tourney are more than likely the parents of those players & are solely living through their children!! If you & your kid needs to play down a level so they can feel important & look amazing on the court then you are just as sad as the coach that allows it!!! To place so much importance on winning a freshman tourney is absurd!! I have seen way too many players over the years that play up because of their skill level, then a couple years later are no longer on the radar because they burned out or other players caught up!! Most players that play along with their class level year by year wind up being the names you see in the paper by their senior year anyway!!! I'd much rather be known for winning the 9th Region Varsity tourney than the team that won the freshman tourney way back when!!!

AMEN!! Conner has 5 freshmen that dress Varsity...2 do not play on freshman team nor will Conner bring them down for freshman tourney!! No doubt if they did, Conner would own that tourney!!! Even during season when the freshman team was down to 6 players due to injury, no one was brought down...they played & won with 6!!

It's a high school freshman tournament!!! How many colleges recruit a player because they won the freshman tourney? & how many high school coaches are recruit & receive a large paycheck for winning a freshman tourney? A successful coach is one that focuses on developing the young freshman players to make a successful program in years to come!!! Everyone wants to win or else they wouldn't bother playing, but the level that some would stoop down to never ceases to amaze me!! It's high school sports people!!

In my book , if a freshman is placed/playing up on JV/V then the coach must feel playing freshman won't be a challenge for them to continue development!! If they haven't played 1 single freshman game all season then shouldn't be eligible to play freshman tourney!! Other sports have minimum participation rules for eligibility, too!! In track, you can't compete in Regions if haven't ran in at least 6 meets prior!! The point of playing kids down for the sake of a win & bragging rights is the most ridiculous thing I've heard!! What it tells the kids that have been playing all year on the team is that the coach doesn't feel they are good enough to win the big game!! Shame Shame!!!

Scott is by far the leader for POY!!! There isn't another player in NKY that can shoot, rebound, pass or lead her team better!! Great play from all the Lady Cougars tonight & way to step up & deliver to Gambrell!! Speedy recovery to Pluto!!!

Thank You!! These are high school girls playing extremely competitive basketball & not 1 of them gives less than 110% when they are on the court. The girls I "named" are excellent at what they do, I just meant the Highlands game was the first time I saw fear/deer-in-headlights on the faces of those girls & they panicked. Every player on the Conner team has learned a valuable lesson in that loss. Losing makes you hungry & tomorrow night Ryle better beware of this hungry Conner team!!!

I didn't call out anyone!! I just said that I didn't think all of the cards were played. Every Conner player on the floor gave 110% & were very crucial in that game but I wonder if they had been able to rest a few minutes would they have been "fresher" at the end?! Conner has a deep bench that some may not realize. Stamm & the whole Conner coaching staff are amazing & have made this Conner program a top program once again!! I don't think a sub from the bench could have won the game for Conner but may have allowed starters some time to breathe...regroup...& kick tail when they went back in!! Gambrel was injured & couldn't play but it is evident that when she subs for Pluto or Hendricks, it makes a difference when they go back into the game!! Try & argue that point....stats don't lie my friend!!!

Just because Conner lost to Highlands at the very end of game shouldn't knock them out!! Indiana beat UK last year & look what UK did after that!! Any team can be beaten on any given day!!

Ryle gets to play Conner on Tuesday night!!

Strong comments to get after a young girl on a public forum imo. She apparently is the type of player that gives 110% every single second of every single game and she plays with alot of emotion and wears her heart on her sleeve. I wouldnt pin this lose on one kid, I would spin it and say if every girl on Conner or for that matter any team in NKY played with her intensity nobody would beat them. I agree, kids need to remember to stay level headed and not react to frustration with actions that are detrimental to their team. I would take 15 of the Maines girl on my team anyday...Just sayin. No disrespect towards the young lady. She is a fierce competitor & one heck of an athlete!! I just meant that Highlands used the technical as momentum & Conner fell apart from there.

I assume it means Highlands found the holes in Conner's defense & took full advantage of it. Conner has some quick guards but are slow underneath on help side. Hopefully Conner can learn from this loss in moving forward. Highlands won't be the only team that will press so if Conner doesn't want a repeat loss they need to learn to make strong passes & step up on the rebounding!!!

The Maines technical was the turning point & gave Highlands momentum. She loses her composure in every sport she plays & is a loose cannon IMO. Meyers is just returning from injury so I think she is earning her starting spot. When she was on the floor & they got her the ball, Conner looked good!!

No chest pumping here!! Both schools look like they'll be stacked for a few years which makes for good basketball. I really like what I see coming from the freshman team & remember Hendricks is freshman that plays Varsity only & Gambrell plays JV & V also!! Speaking of Gambrell, she was injured in jv game so didn't play in Varsity & I really think Conner needed her tonight!! She is a strong ballhandler & could have cut through the trap press with ease. She doesn't panic or hesitate which was something Pluto & Scott seemed to do alot of tonight, which resulted in multiple turnovers!! I hope these 2 teams meet again this season so we are treated again to some awesome basketball!!

I don't care if Highlands has 10 middle school kids on freshman or jv team, if you're gonna play up because you're too good for middle school ball, you can't use it as excuse if you lose!! Highlands won tonight fair & square, but I stand behind my earlier statement which was Stamm didn't play all his cards tonight!! Hope Conner gets another chance at Highlands to prove my point!!!

Thank you!! I agree with you that Conner ran out of steam at the end but I think Conner's biggest flaws are lack of rebounding & constant foul trouble. In order for Conner to be taken serious, they will have to stop relying on the 3pt shots & start rebounding on both ends. I have to disagree with you as to the bench players. This is first game that he didn't use his ben..ch & its not because it was a tight game cuz he used them during NCC game which was a battle. Whether he plays the bench or not, the fact is he has 5 freshmen on Varsity team means Conner isn't going away anytime soon!!!

Congrats to Highlands for come back win, however the officials made way too many touch calls on both sides & it took away from the game. Highlands hustled but having seen them twice, I'm still not all that impressed. Conner only played 7 players the whole game, so I think Stamm may have left some cards up his sleeve!! I watched all 3 games & Stamm has some serious talent on that freshmen team. They won 48-27 with only 7 players on the team. Frye is powerful underneath & strong rebounder. Vest can drive the lane as well as hit the 3s & hustles. Boelter is fast, has amazing vertical jump for her size, and can also hurt driving lane for pull up jump shot or hitting from the outside. Stamm has a very deep bench full of talent, so we'll have to wait & see how he uses that talent the rest of the season!!!